For the People Act of 2021 (H.R. 1; 117th Congress)/Division A/Title III/Subtitle D

by John Sarbanes

SEC. 3301. TESTING OF EXISTING VOTING SYSTEMS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH ELECTION CYBERSECURITY GUIDELINES AND OTHER GUIDELINES.

(a) Requiring Testing Of Existing Voting Systems.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 231(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20971(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(3) TESTING TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH GUIDELINES.—

“(A) TESTING.—Not later than 9 months before the date of each regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, the Commission shall provide for the testing by accredited laboratories under this section of the voting system hardware and software which was certified for use in the most recent such election, on the basis of the most recent voting system guidelines applicable to such hardware or software (including election cybersecurity guidelines) issued under this Act.

“(B) DECERTIFICATION OF HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE FAILING TO MEET GUIDELINES.—If, on the basis of the testing described in subparagraph (A), the Commission determines that any voting system hardware or software does not meet the most recent guidelines applicable to such hardware or software issued under this Act, the Commission shall decertify such hardware or software.”.

(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in November 2022 and each succeeding regularly scheduled general election for Federal office.

(b) Issuance Of Cybersecurity Guidelines By Technical Guidelines Development Committee.—Section 221(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20961(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(3) ELECTION CYBERSECURITY GUIDELINES.—Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Development Committee shall issue election cybersecurity guidelines, including standards and best practices for procuring, maintaining, testing, operating, and updating election systems to prevent and deter cybersecurity incidents.”.

(c) Blockchain Technology Study And Report.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance Commission shall conduct a study with respect to the use of blockchain technology to enhance voter security in an election for Federal office.

(2) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report on the study conducted under paragraph (1).

SEC. 3302. TREATMENT OF ELECTRONIC POLL BOOKS AS PART OF VOTING SYSTEMS.

(a) Inclusion In Definition Of Voting System.—Section 301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(b)) is amended—

(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “this section” and inserting “this Act”;

(2) by striking “and” at the end of paragraph (1);

(3) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and

(4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:

“(2) any electronic poll book used with respect to the election; and”.

(b) Definition.—Section 301 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081) is amended—

(1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e); and

(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection:

“(c) Electronic Poll Book Defined.—In this Act, the term ‘electronic poll book’ means the total combination of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment (including the software, firmware, and documentation required to program, control, and support the equipment) that is used—

“(1) to retain the list of registered voters at a polling location, or vote center, or other location at which voters cast votes in an election for Federal office; and

“(2) to identify registered voters who are eligible to vote in an election.”.

(c) Effective Date.—Section 301(e) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(e)), as redesignated by subsection (b), is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: “, or, with respect to any requirements relating to electronic poll books, on and after January 1, 2022.”.

SEC. 3303. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON VOTING SYSTEM USAGE.

(a) Requiring States To Submit Reports.—Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 301 the following new section:

“SEC. 301A. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON VOTING SYSTEM USAGE.

“(a) Requiring States To Submit Reports.—Not later than 120 days before the date of each regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, the chief State election official of a State shall submit a report to the Commission containing a detailed voting system usage plan for each jurisdiction in the State which will administer the election, including a detailed plan for the usage of electronic poll books and other equipment and components of such system.

“(b) Effective Date.—Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in November 2022 and each succeeding regularly scheduled general election for Federal office.”.

(b) Clerical Amendment.—The table of contents of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 301 the following new item:

“Sec. 301A. Pre-election reports on voting system usage.”.

SEC. 3304. STREAMLINING COLLECTION OF ELECTION INFORMATION.

Section 202 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20922) is amended—

(1) by striking “The Commission” and inserting “(a) In General.—The Commission”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(b) Waiver Of Certain Requirements.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, shall not apply to the collection of information for purposes of maintaining the clearinghouse described in paragraph (1) of subsection (a).”.

SEC. 3305. EXEMPTION OF CYBERSECURITY ASSISTANCE FROM LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF COORDINATED POLITICAL PARTY EXPENDITURES.

(a) Exemption.—Section 315(d)(5) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(d)(5)) is amended—

(1) by striking “(5)” and inserting “(5)(A)”;

(2) by striking the period at the end and inserting “, or to expenditures (whether provided as funds or provided as in-kind services) for secure information communications technology or for a cybersecurity product or service or for any other product or service which assists in responding to threats or harassment online.”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(B) In subparagraph (A)—

“(i) the term ‘secure information communications technology’ means a commercial-off-the-shelf computing device which has been configured to restrict unauthorized access and uses publicly-available baseline configurations; and

“(ii) the term ‘cybersecurity product or service’ means a product or service which helps an organization to achieve the set of standards, guidelines, best practices, methodologies, procedures, and processes to cost-effectively identify, detect, protect, respond to, and recover from cyber risks as developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology pursuant to subsections (c)(15) and (e) of section 2 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272).”.

(b) Effective Date.—The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to expenditures made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.